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by unoriginalfangirl
Summary: My take on what happened after episode ten. Miller/Carver


_**This is how I wish Episode 10 would have ended. It's very OOC and very Carver/Miller. I hope you enjoy it. I do not own Gracepoint and I am in no way profiting by publishing this.**_

Emmett Carver threw his phone on the ground in frustration. He'd spent the last half hour trying to reach Ellie Miller. He now knew that her son, Tom, had been involved in Danny's murder. He assumed that the reason Miller wasn't answering her phone was because she had come to the same realization. He picked his cellphone up out of the sand and began pacing. He knew he needed to talk to Miller, but he didn't want to go to her hotel room. He didn't want to have this conversation while her children slept peacefully beside them. When he turned around he saw Miller sitting in the exact spot she had been in just a couple of hours earlier. She sat in silence, watching him.

"How long were you going to let me panic before you said something?" he grumbled as he sauntered over to wear she was sitting, and plopped down beside her.

She frowned at him before saying, "I would've been here sooner, but I had to get Owen to watch the kids. I know what you are about to say, but I don't think I'm ready to hear it. My kids are the only thing I have left. When they find out about Tom, do you think they will take Dillon away from me too? Do you think they will say I'm an unfit mother for marrying a sicko and raising a killer? My son is not a killer, Carver. It was an accident." Her voice was thick with tears and her eyes were red.

"Ellie, I'm not going to let that happen to you." It broke his heart to see her like this. Her beautiful blue eyes that once shone with hope were now clouded by anger and fear. She looked absolutely shattered. He would give anything to have the always optimistic Ellie that had been annoying him just days ago. He would do anything to see her smile just one more time. She didn't deserve this. In just twenty-four hours everything that she held sacred was gone. Her friends, her home, her husband, and her trust were lost.

The distance between them seemed to grow, fed by all the things they weren't saying. "What do you mean?"

"I'm not going to say anything about Tom."

"I don't understand."

"What don't you understand, Ellie?"

"I don't understand why my own town turned against me. I don't understand why you, of all people, have decided to help me now, and I don't understand how my husband could tell me he loved me for years when he would rather be with a little boy." Her shoulders slumped in defeat as she finally let loose the tears she'd been holding in for the last few hours.

Even though it went against everything Carver had done since he set foot in Gracepoint, he tried to comfort Miller. He sat down beside her and put his hand on her shoulder. "I know it seems like the world is falling apart now, but you will be alright. Wherever you go when this is over will be better; they will love you there. How could they not? Joe is sick and I know you will find someone better."

"You forgot something," she whispered between sobs.

"I thought I covered it all." He knew he was lying, but he couldn't tell her what made him decide to help her now. He couldn't tell her because he didn't understand it himself. He could not explain the warm feeling that filled his body when she smiled at him or the guilt he felt each time he pushed her away. He couldn't explain why all he wanted now was to hold her and assure her that everything would be fine.

She gave him a knowing look and he sighed in defeat. "Believe it or not, I care about you. I haven't been the best at showing you that, but I feel that it's selfish for a dying man to become attached to someone. I didn't want anyone to get hurt, but it looks like that was out of my control."

"I think I would have liked you more if you were selfish," she said with a smile. After pausing for a moment she added, "You've been calling me Ellie again."

"It's not exactly unprofessional anymore, seeing as we are no longer coworkers." He looked down to avoid her gaze and realized that his hand was now on top of hers. He must have slid his hand down from her shoulder to its current position while he was lost in thought.

She chuckled and rested her head on his shoulder. "What now?"

"We do the only thing that we can, start over. We will go our separate ways. You will find another town to call home and find someone else to love. I'll try to be a better dad. I'll get that surgery for my heart."

"This doesn't have to be the end. Maybe I'll come visit you in the hospital, or you could come see me after you recover. We don't have to forget each other to forget Gracepoint."

"That sounds nice, Ellie." _Actually, it sounded wonderful._ In reality, they probably wouldn't keep in touch, but he liked to believe they would. In his wildest dreams he imagined a life with Ellie, a life after Gracepoint. Even the slightest possibility of such made him smile.

After a while they both stood and said their goodbyes. Miller pulled him in for a hug and he felt his knees go weak. It felt so natural, like he'd been holding her in his arms for years. There was just something about Ellie Miller that felt like home. After they separated he promised himself that someday it would be.


End file.
